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English pop-singer Harry Styles has now become part of a college curriculum. The Texas State University’s Honors College is offering a course on Harry Styles for its Spring 2023 semester.
The class is titled Harry Styles and the Cult of Celebrity: Identity, the Internet and European Pop Culture. It will focus on the 28-year-old’s artistry and “the political development of the modern celebrity as related to questions of gender and sexuality, race, class, nation and globalism, media, fashion, fan culture, internet culture and consumerism.”
On July 16, Louie Dean Valencia, who is the associate professor of digital history at Texas State and will be teaching the course, tweeted:
“It’s official, official. I’m teaching the world’s first ever university course on the work of #HarryStyles is happening Spring 2023 at @TXST University,” he wrote. “This is what tenure looks like. Let’s gooooo!”
Harry Styles Course at Texas College: Course materials, how to register and more
The materials for the class span across One Direction's early albums to Styles' solo outings and his films like Dunkirk, Eternals, as well as the upcoming Don't Worry Darling and My Policeman. It also includes other works that inspired Styles - from the writing of Susan Sontag to the philosophy of Alain de Botton.
The course is being offered through the university’s Honours College. According to Valencia, class strength has been capped at 20 in order to encourage in-depth conversations.
Registrations for the course will begin in the fall with Honors student eligible for early registration. No-Honours students can also apply through the Texas State website.
Why does Louis Dean Valencia want to teach a course on Harry Styles?
Valencia, who himself has been a Styles’ fan since his One Direction days, aims to give students a better world-view through this course. CNN quoted Valencia as saying:
"I can't tell you how many conversations I've had with students over the last two years that started with a shared love of Harry's music, but that quickly went into larger societal questions about gender, sexuality, race, gun control, sustainability because of Harry's art.”
Valencia further noted that the major tenets of Harry Styles include positivity, expression, self-love and kindness. He also spoke about how he and many others "feel like they've grown up" with Styles, and as a result identify a connection with him.
On TikTok, the professor explained that the course was based on everything that is already known about the artist. He said:
"Really, the idea of the class is that we’re going to learn about the things he puts out there, and through that lens, learn about his music, his artistry and also hopefully a little bit about ourselves."
Elaborating about the class to a media outlet, Valencia further noted that he wanted students to explore the changes in the world over the last 12 years and put it into a historical context.
Those enrolled in the course will get a chance to see how they can learn from Harry Styles and his art, activism as well as philosophy.
No application deadline has been announced as of yet. For more details, visit the official website of Texas State University.
